Development & Annual Giving Counsel

The de Paul School is a private, independent, non-sectarian school dedicated to teaching students in grades 1-8 with learning differences how to learn, how to be independent, and how to be successful. Founded in 1970, The de Paul School has provided unsurpassed service to children with learning differences and the School also guided educators in other states to create schools modeled after the Louisville example. The de Paul School is nationally accredited and one of the nation's largest independent schools for students with learning differences. Programs similar to The de Paul School have continued to thrive in Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.

The Louisville Visual Art Association (LVAA) is among the naton's oldest and most respected visual arts organizations. Established in 1909, the LVAA has engaged artists and audiences through an energetic agenda of education, community outreach, artist support, and exhibitions that nurture creative expression and stimulate dialogue.

In 2006, as they approached their 100th anniversary, LVAA leaders sought expert outside counsel to assess their development programs and annual events, evaluate the LVAA's potential to grow its major gifts program and assist in repositioning the board's expectations and committee roles, providing renewed commitment to recruit and retain a new generation of board leadership. LVAA looked to the team at Ashley|Rountree to take a fresh look at the whole organization, to not shy away from the tougher mission-based dynamic of "education" versus "exhibition", but to do so with a particular focus on philanthropy, fundraising and board/staff roles.

Through the summer and fall of 2006, our consultants worked side-by side with LVAA staff and board members to assess the recent history and trends of their annual support revenue streams, identify opportunities for growth and develop specific strategies for securing increased (or new) major gifts from new donors and estate gifts from loyal donors. Annual giving programs were evaluated and new plans were proposed to help grow the base of members and program underwriters. Comprehensive recommendations were developed for critical changes to the board's policies and procedures, committee roles and functions. A particular focus of the project was to substantially strengthen the role of the Development Committee and align its efforts more strategically with the LVAA's small staff and limited resources. Five years later, the LVAA has entered its second century with an even stronger record of service to the community and fundraising success.

Hosparus is the region's leading hospice care provider, serving more than 5,000 patients annually in 36 counties across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. A Joint Commission-accredited, nonprofit hospice organization, Hosparus has for has been providing care, comfort and counseling over 30 years.

After undergoing a significant change in staff leadership, Hosparus turned to Ashley|Rountree in 2009 for assistance to help provide campaign direction and counsel for a new capital campaign. The campaign envisions a $14.5 million effort to support renovation and construction for facilities used for staff at the headquarters in Louisville, as well as offices in New Albany (Indiana) and Elizabethtown (Kentucky). The campaign supports new programs and endowment funds, providing much-needed stability in a time of shifting health care funding dynamics. Our consultants helped to provide structure and recruiting strategies for campaign volunteers and directed efforts to cultivate and secure major gifts. The campaign is currently in a quiet phase but has already secured three $500,000 gifts—the largest in the agency's history. Our consultants recently devised a comprehensive, 30-county prospect-screening program to assist Hosparus staff and board in boosting new prospects for gifts to the campaign.

Recently, Hosparus asked Ashley|Rountree to evaluate its annual giving programs and make recommendations on how to grow and sustain a new base of entry-level donors during the campaign. Using best-practice methods from peer hospices nationally, the program was redesigned to focus on gaining new support from families served by Hosparus and improving the cost-efficiency for special events, among other efforts. Later that same year, Hosparus leadership asked Ashley|Rountree to serve as interim staff, leading a staff of 18 in Advancement and Public Affairs, and to direct a national search for a new Senior VP. Both the reorganization and the search were successfully concluded within 4 months.

The Louisville Zoo, the state zoo of Kentucky, is a nonprofit organization founded 42 years ago and dedicated to the pursuits of education, conservation, scientific study and recreation. The Zoo's extensive collections include botanical gardens and exhibits with over 1,300 animals in naturalistic settings representing both geographical areas and biomes or habitats. The Zoo has over 35,000 members and 800,000 annual visitors, making it one of the nation's most-visited zoos.

Ashley|Rountree consultants have been honored to help the Zoo successfully complete two successive capital campaigns. In 2004, board and staff leaders approached Ashley|Rountree to assist in managing the final phase of a campaign for a new aviary exhibit that would highlight the Zoo's lorikeets. Once finished, the Zoo asked our consultants to undertake an assessment study to examine the feasibility of a campaign for an ambitious new exhibit, Glacier Run, which would require more than $20 million, the largest fundraising effort in the Zoo's history. As a result of helpful information secured by Ashley|Rountree in over 40 community interviews, the boards of the Zoo and the Zoo Foundation concluded that a goal of $25 million-plus was achievable. The Zoo once again turned to Ashley|Rountree in 2005 to serve as campaign counsel, guiding staff and board to successfully go over goal with more than $26 million raised by campaign's end in 2010, including a successful $900,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation.

Simultaneously with these campaigns, Zoo staff has asked for focused assistance in evaluating opportunities for growing the annual giving program. The team from Ashley|Rountree guided the Zoo in creating innovative methods for converting members to donors, as well as strategies for identifying affinities within non-donor groups. Also, our consultants provided ongoing coaching to senior staff leadership, covering a variety of areas in development, community outreach and board relations.